I keep hearing everywhere that gluten is dangerous. What is that all about?
Answer: Anyone who has had along term undiagnosed health problem could be a victim of gluten sensitivity. For example, perhaps you wake up every morning feeling very tired and depressed. Maybe it’s associated with that irritating skin rash that has made you self conscious and won’t go away. You’ve made the round of doctors, taken the pills, done the exercises, and literally slipped into bed at night covered with creams and lotions. It could be different for another person. They’ve had a steady stream of migraine headaches for years. They haven’t been able to keep a job because of absenteeism. The pills don’t work anymore. The suffering is unbearable. The doctors are at a loss for the cause or the cure.
Both of these situations and a myriad of other combinations could well be caused by the gluten intake of your diet. You could be one of 40% of the population that is sensitive to gluten. Or perhaps you are 1% of the people who have Celiac Disease, an autoimmune disease. It is a chameleon, disguising itself with a myriad of symptoms and defying diagnosis for years and years. Let me explain this elusive quality that is so characteristic of Gluten sensitivity and intolerance.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Unkowingly you may crave it because it’s the stuff that gives bakery products their texture, shape, volume, flakiness, and flavor. It is a grayish, sticky, glue-like substance that is hard for the human body to digest. It has been in man’s diet for a relatively short time, historically speaking, and total adaptation to it is still in process.
Unlike other proteins it does not break down into amino acids and passes through the body relatively unchanged. Unfortunately gluten glue has a tendency to stick to the intestinal tract and form a sticky plaque coating the nutrition absorbing villi.
For persons with the auto immune disease, Celiac disease (CD), it damages the villi, tiny hair-like projections in the small intestine that absorb all of the nutrients from food. The villi then distribute nutrition to all parts of the body: skin, flesh, muscle, organs, etc. These villi have an area of absorption the size of two football fields. When they are destroyed or damaged, the parts of the body which are most sensitive to the absence of nutrition will react first and give off symptoms characteristic of that organ, or muscle, or skin area etc. The area affected varies from person to person.
For persons who are just sensitive to gluten, the damage is not so extreme. The villi may be damaged to some extent but it is likely that the undigested gluten has coated the villi, reducing the nutrition absorption area.2 The undigested gluten can also cause stomach pain, gas, and diarrhea in sensitive people. With these people, sensitive body parts can also be affected and give off elusive and misleading systems.
Documented symptoms are legion. The most common are gas, diarrhea, stomach pain, feeling very tired, changes in mood, weight loss, slowed or retarded growth, skin conditions, blisters, infertility, malnutrition, anemia, thyroid problems, autism like characteristics3 and depression. They include almost anything and everything associated with the body including a negative effect on heart disease.
The cause of Celiac Disease is a mystery. Its onset can be caused by genetics, 40% of the population carries the gene.4 It can also be triggered for the first time after surgery, viral infection, severe emotional stress, pregnancy, and childbirth.
If you suffer from an undiagnosed illness, ask your doctor about getting a gluten sensitivity test or a Celiac Disease test. If eliminating gluten from your diet could be beneficial or absolutely necessary he will make the call. A gluten free diet does not affect the body in any negative way. You can switch back and forth without feeling any effect. But, remember, a gluten problem is a tricky little devil that could be hiding behind every malady.
1.) UCSD San Diego Union Tribune 10/26/10 p. E3
2.) glutensolutions .com Dietary autism treatment through a gluten-free diet.
3.) Reno Gazette Journal 6/22/10 pC1
4.) THE G-Free Diet. Elisabeth Hasselbeck p12Q.
What is the significance of your name “Haven on Earth Bread and Bakery Co.”?
Answer : We wanted a name that would immediately convey safety for our customers but give them a sense of freedom to eat whatever they desired. “Bread and Bakery Co.” was tacked on because this is a family owned business and our son liked the sound of it. We hope the decorating and the whole package will be a haven for you to enjoy whether you need gluten free or just simply enjoy our baked goods.
Q. What is Dedicated Gluten Free?
Answer : We have a new facility where we have never produced anything but Gluten Free (free of wheat, barley and rye).
Q. What is Gluten?
Answer : The dictionary defines it as a grayish sticky component (protein)of wheat flour, barley, and Rye. But there is a list a mile long with all the things gluten is in. Just read the ingredients. Other grains such as oats could have been contaminated in the growing process just because they are adjacent to a wheat field. We use only “gluten free oats”. All of our ingredients are chemically tested for gluten.
Q. What are some of the alternate flours you use?
Answer : We use millett, tapioca, potato, garbanzo, quinoa, sorghum, amaranth, flax, to name a few. We also include fava bean flour in some for added nutrition. We never use spelt or related flours because they are not tested to be truly gluten free. We will never put your health on the line.
Q. Are any of your products milk free?
Answer : All of our breads are milk free and only a small number of our pastries contain milk.
Q. Do you use Peanuts in your facility?
Answer : A. Some of our products do contain tree nuts but we are a Peanut free facility.